KNOCK KNOCK: HUMOUR IN CONTEMPORARY ART

22 Sep – 18 Nov 2018 Past exhibition

This show of art with a comic edge is at once inviting, engaging, and sharp: plugged into international and local scenes alike

Hettie Judah, frieze, September 2018

KNOCK KNOCK explores the enduring use of humour as a device in contemporary art. Featuring works by more than thirty artists, the show spans the SLG’s main space and three floors of its new annexe in the former Peckham Road Fire Station.

Curated by SLG Director, Margot Heller, with artist Ryan Gander, KNOCK KNOCK brings works by internationally established figures such as Maurizio Cattelan, Sarah Lucas and Ugo Rondinone into dialogue with newly commissioned and existing works by younger practitioners such as Danielle Dean, Hardeep Pandhal and Simeon Barclay. The show provides a surprising encounter with
a broad range of humorous strategies, from slapstick, parody and caricature through to the in-joke, one-liner and visual pun.

At a time of much upheaval and unease in the world, KNOCK KNOCK aims to raise a smile at a joyous moment in the history of the SLG, but also to explore what makes us laugh in art and why.

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Installation view of KNOCK KNOCK at South London Gallery (22 September – 18 November 2018)
Pictured: Flock of sheep (2017) by Judith Hopf
Photo: Andy Stagg

Installation view of KNOCK KNOCK at South London Gallery (22 September – 18 November 2018)
Pictured: She (2017) and KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN (2018) by Danielle Dean
Photo: Andy Stagg

Installation view of KNOCK KNOCK at South London Gallery (22 September – 18 November 2018)
Pictured: “Please don’t argue. You have to leave right now, you aren’t safe here” (2018), by Yonatan Vinitsky
Photo: Andy Stagg

Installation view of KNOCK KNOCK at South London Gallery (22 September – 18 November 2018)
Pictured: If There were Anywhere but Desert, Friday (2002) by Ugo Rondinone
Photo: Andy Stagg